Solstice
by Guardian Spirit
Summary: The origins of Rikku's FFX-2 scarf revealed! Duhn duhn duuuuuuhn! Winter, snowstorm, coldness abounds. Auron is OC, but it's not terrible. Aurikku. Please RR!


It was snowing.

It was snowing hard and Rikku wished it would stop because, dammit, she hated the cold. She hated it more than fiends and even lightening because at least _those_ she could escape from. When it was cold it was just _that_ and no amount of screaming and fussing could change it. Not for lack of trying, of course. She had been sure to make her opinions known to the others for a good half hour until Yuna, bless her heart, had decided that she too would like to get out of the cold.

And so they had, despite Auron's grunts of protest, stopped traveling and found a nice, quiet inn to ride the storm out. Rikku had been happy, but an hour later when she was still shivering, the elation seemed to be wearing off. The blankets she swiped notwithstanding, Rikku was definitely not dressed for the cold. Growing up in the desert she had never really encountered any type of weather that couldn't be conquered with a good pair of shorts and tank top. Of course this totally proved that theory wrong and she found herself wishing she had taken that man in Guadosalam up on his offer to trade her a scarf for her extra claw.

But because she had been stubborn, she would now have to face the consequences of slowly freezing to death. She had heard _all_ the stories of travelers getting lost on Mt. Gagazet, only to have their frozen, decrepit bodies fished from a ravine months, maybe even years later. It was a crappy way to die, really, and Rikku definitely wasn't looking forward to it.

As if on cue, the wind outside picked up, blowing little snowflakes of death and deception into the window. They were taunting her, and when another big gust of wind hit the window, Rikku yelped. She was even more startled when someone behind her chuckled.

Rikku turned around and scowled at Auron who, in his gigantic red coat, was probably one hundred times warmer than she could _ever_ imagine to be. "What? Don't laugh, it was a scary gust of wind! And anyway, those snowflakes are totally evil. They can't be trusted." Auron adjusted his glasses before sitting down next to her.

"And why is that?" he asked, staring at her thoughtfully.

"They're trying to kill me!" she exclaimed, motioning to the snowflakes falling across the window. "They're just _waiting_ for me to step outside so they can act all calm and unthreatening, but the next thing you know - BAM! - Rikku popsicle!" Auron raised an eyebrow and made no signs of response, so Rikku felt the need to explain further. "You know, like all those people you hear about getting frozen alive on Mt. Gagazet. It's _totally_ cold enough for that to happen."

_"Rikku, we're nowhere near Mt. Gagazet."_

She gave an exasperated sigh. Auron, for all his years, _clearly_ did not know the ways of the world as well as she did. "I _know _that, Auron, but that doesn't mean it can't happen! I mean, there might very well be some ditches around here and, God knows, they're just as deep as any old ravine. And if I were to fall down one, well, that would be the end of me! These shorts aren't going to protect me from anything, y'know. I'd be frozen and dead and…and it would totally _suck_!" She slammed her fist down on the table for added emphasize, fairly confident that she had gotten through to him this time.

He stared at her for a moment and Rikku swore she saw him trying not to smirk. He adjusted his glasses again. "And this would be a bad thing?"

Rikku punched him in the arm. "You're such a jerk!" Again he chuckled ad she gave him the biggest, meanest glare she could muster up. If looks could kill, she wanted him to be dead at _least_ twelve times over.

After a minute or so of Rikku-tries-to-turn-Auron-to-stone time, Auron cleared his throat. "Sorry," he grunted in his stoic, manly voice of power and authority. Rikku still glared at him, not wanting to give up the good fight, but her face soon collided with a bundle of bright orange and yellow. She stared at Auron, stunned, and not quite sure what had just happened. He looked out the window, and explained somewhat hurriedly, "That's for you. It's…I just thought you might need it. To protect you from the cold."

Rikku reached down to where the bundle had fallen and held it up to the light. Slowly it unraveled and she was left staring at the most beautiful scarf she had ever seen. She ran her hands down it a few times, admiring the way the yarn felt underneath her fingers. The colors seemed to cascade down it's length, from dark orange to even lighter orange, eventually ending at yellow near the tassels. He stared at her, clearly waiting for some sort of quintessential Rikku reaction, some validation that he had done good.

Rikku looked from the scarf back towards him. Never in a million years would she expect something like this because, God, he was _Auron_. Not that he wasn't a nice guy, but he was severely lacking it what she'd like to call normal social skills. Most days she was lucky to get a word out of him, let alone a gift. She was touched, really she was, and impulsively leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, that was really sweet," she took the scarf and wrapped it around her neck, admiring her reflection in the window. Auron quietly stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. It was his way of saying "you're welcome" and Rikku beamed as he exited the room. Hugging the ends of her new scarf to her chest, she smiled. Maybe winter wasn't so bad after all.

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AN: Just a little winter gift for you guys! For those of you waiting for the next chapter of Line Between, sorry it's been taking so long. I promise I'll have it up soon, so thanks for being patient!

Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this little fic. It was sappy and a bit OC, I know, but I liked the idea and...yeah. Reviews are much appreciated!


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